Carell departed from The Office during its seventh season. After he left, the rest of the season was dedicated to finding a replacement, and the season 8 premiere revealed that the job went to Ed Helms’ Andy Bernard. The Office kept going for another two seasons without Michael, but those two seasons were generally considered to be a massive drop-off in the show’s quality.
This decline is often attributed to Carell’s departure, and it certainly didn’t help. Michael was the beating heart of The Office and the series never felt the same without him. But based on the writing, The Office’s final seasons would’ve still had plenty of problems if Michael was still the regional manager. Season 8 had a few gems — and the presence of the hilarious Robert California certainly helped — but season 9 was the year that truly killed The Office.
The Office Season 9 Showed Everything Wrong With The Series' Final Seasons
The Office Devolved Into A Cartoon In Its Final Season
The ninth and final season of The Office exemplifies everything that went wrong with the series towards the end. In its early seasons, what made The Office so great was that it was a grounded sitcom set in a relatably mundane workplace. But in the final season, there’s nothing relatable or mundane about the day-to-day operations of Dunder Mifflin. The office is no longer a place of business; it’s just a playground where a bunch of wacky characters hang out and get into shenanigans.
The office is no longer a place of business; it’s just a playground where a bunch of wacky characters hang out and get into shenanigans.
In the season 9 premiere, Dwight rides a bicycle across a tightrope off the roof — and it only gets more absurd from there. Andy goes to the bathroom on David Wallace’s car before auditioning for a TV talent show. Dwight fills Stanley with tranquilizer darts and throws his unconscious body headfirst down the staircase because he refuses to walk down the stairs. The Office season 9 has more in common with Looney Tunes than the classic British series it was based on.
The Problems With The Office's Seasons 8 And 9 Had Little To Do With Michael's Absence
Michael Wouldn't Have Been Able To Save The Office's Final Seasons
Michael’s absence was definitely an issue in The Office’s final seasons, but if Carell had stuck around until the end of the series, it wouldn’t have been enough to salvage those last two seasons. If seasons 8 and 9 still had the Tallahassee arc, the Athlead arc, and Brian the sound guy, then it wouldn’t have been any better if Michael was there. Michael’s absence hurt The Office’s final seasons, but it wasn’t the only issue with them.
The Office
- Release Date
- 2005 - 2013-00-00
- Network
- NBC
- Showrunner
- Greg Daniels
Cast
Michael Scott
Dwight Schrute
WHERE TO WATCH
- Directors
- Greg Daniels, Paul Lieberstein, Paul Feig, Randall Einhorn, Ken Kwapis
- Writers
- Ricky Gervais, Greg Daniels, B.J. Novak
- Franchise(s)
- The Office
- Creator(s)
- Greg Daniels
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